Saturday, November 22, 2008

Where Were You?

I had been diagnosed with tuberculosis. Got sent to live in the San Antonio Chest Hospital. Don’t remember its realname. It was 1963. I spent a year and half or thereaboutsthere. The day before Kennedy was killed he visited BrookeArmy Medical Hospital or, again, whatever it was at the time.It was almost directly across from the Chest Hospital. Wepatients lined the low fence along Military Highway to catcha glimpse of the President. There was a huge flag draped over the front of the building where he spoke, and we couldhear his voice on the loudspeaker. Next day just after lunch,there was a commotion in the TV room in my tubercularward. President Kennedy had been assassinated. It had adevastating effect on most of us. For weeks we watchedTV for as long as we were allowed. In the next six monthsI recovered and healed from my illness, but not until thedoctors had removed part of my left lung. I remember oneof my aunts visiting me in the recovery room, later tellingme that I didn’t look like I was going to make it. In June of1964, I left the hospital at the age of sixteen. Committed tobeing a poet.